1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to endotracheal tubes for use with patients undergoing anesthesia, surgery or mechanical ventilation.
2. Description Of The Prior Art And Objectives Of The Invention
Various endotracheal tubes have been conceived in the past utilizing cuffs or bulbs which are expanded or inflated by the use of a catheter. The inflated cuff will contact and seal the tracheal walls during anesthesia or the like to prevent aspiration of gastric or oral contents or the escape of air. Certain prior art endotracheal tubes have utilized a pair of cuffs or bulbs and in particular, U.S. Pat. No. 3,211,152 utilizes an inner and outer bulb for safety purposes. The double cuff endotracheal tubes thereby allow a second cuff to be inflated, upon rupture of the first cuff, to prevent aspiration and air leakage during ventilation.
While such prior art endotracheal tubes utilizing double cuffs are useful, problems have been known to arise due to the bulk of one cuff inside another. For example, during a trial inflation before insertion, the inner or secondary cuff may not fully deflate or reposition itself exactly and can cause additional diameter or "bulk" to the elongated endotracheal tube. This additional bulk can cause difficulty in inserting the endotracheal tube, such as during passage through the nostrils.
Therefore, with the limitations and disadvantages of known endotracheal tubes, the present invention was conceived and one of its objectives is to provide a safe, easily insertable endotracheal tube which includes a primary and a secondary inner inflatable cuff.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide an endotracheal tube having a secondary cuff which is tightly and compactly positioned on the endotracheal tube for ease during insertion and extraction.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide a secondary cuff which is tightly furled around the endotracheal tube prior to inflation and which will return to its pre-inflation position when deflated.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an endotracheal tube which includes independent means to inflate each of said primary and secondary cuffs.
Various other objectives and advantages of the present invention become apparent to those skilled in the art as a more detailed presentation is set forth below.